Belgrade Theatre presents world premiere of NOTHELLO as climax of its City of Culture 2021 programme of work
Photo credit: Nicola Young
As Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 enters its final months, the Belgrade Theatre have announced that they will present the world premiere of Nothello from 7-21 May.
The piece is written and devised by Mojisola Adebayo, William Shakespeare and Justine Themen. Inspired by interviews with mixed heritage couples and individuals who live locally, the show features a mixed heritage community chorus from across the city, and will be the final production of the Belgrade’s City of Culture programme.
Is the only part Shakespeare wrote for a black man actually just, well… a bit rubbish? Isn’t Othello responsible for setting up negative stereotypes about black men? Isn’t Desdemona a bit shallow? And don’t all the best lines go to Iago anyway?
Welcome to Nothello, an absurdist, anarchic, insightful and witty new play from the Belgrade Theatre. Join us on an increasingly meta deep-dive into Shakespeare’s Othello, from the perspective of an unborn child, exploring the play’s legacy and what it means to be of mixed-heritage.
Maybe we can imagine a version of Othello for today, where it’s not a tragedy anymore but a romance. Where Othello and Desdemona can start all over again, full of love and possibility - full of hope and wonder.
The Belgrade Theatre are looking for community members to help devise and participate in Nothello. They are searching for a mixed race youth group to assist the director in devising the piece, a mixed race chorus to write and perform songs, and interracial couples who will perform as dancers in the show. More information can be found here.
Justine Themen said: “The mixed heritage population is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the UK, and interracial relationships are on the rise – as is expected to be evidenced by the result of the 2021 census, due out late spring. I’m excited that in the final show of our City of Culture year, we can challenge the impossibility of love across the divide. Instead, moving forward from a year of extraordinary and diverse storytelling, we can celebrate with our city and our audiences how we can be enriched by difference, rather than challenged by it.”
For more information and to book tickets, please click here.
